Breaking News

Trump Says Short-Term Deal Made With Congress To Reopen U.S. Government

U.S. President Donald Trump says he has come to an agreement with
Congressional leaders to reopen the federal government on a short-term
basis without the funding he has demanded for a wall along the
U.S.-Mexican border.
In remarks at the White House on January 25, Trump said he would sign a
short-term funding bill that will run through February 15 to end the
partial government shutdown, now in its 35th day.

Trump continued to push the need for a border wall, and said any
permanent deal after February 15 would have to include funding for a
wall or he would shut down the government again or declare a national
emergency to address the matter.

Trump said that as part of the deal there would be a commitment by
Democratic and Republican lawmakers to “in good faith” debate border
security in the three weeks leading up to the expiration of the funding.

“I am very proud to announce we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said.

“I am asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to put the proposal
on the floor of the Senate immediately,” he said, adding that he would
seek to have federal workers receive their back pay “as soon as
possible.”

The short-term deal, if finalized, would end the longest shutdown in
U.S. history, eclipsing a 21-day closure in the 1990s under President
Bill Clinton.

Some 800,000 federal workers have either been idled or are working without pay as a result of the shutdown.

Democrats say Trump shut the government in a "temper tantrum" by
refusing to sign bipartisan funding legislation last year that did not
include money for his wall.

Trump says the wall is needed to slow the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs that enter the United States from Mexico.

Democrats and other critics doubt or deny the country even needs such a
barrier, accusing Trump of twisting facts and figures to overstate the
scope of any problem along the country’s southern border.

The shutdown has caused disruptions in government-related activities.

Earlier on January 25, airports in several key hubs in the Eastern
United States reported major delays because a shortage of air-traffic
controllers, many of whom have called in sick after being required to
work without pay.